Attitudes towards urban howler monkeys (Alouatta caraya) in Paraguay

Marco Alesci,Rebecca L Smith,Andrea Camperio Ciani,Jorge Damian Ayala Santacruz

doi:10.1007/s10329-022-00975-5

Marco Alesci, Rebecca L Smith + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10329-022-00975-5

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Journal: Primates	Publication Date: Feb 10, 2022
Citations: 4	License type: open-access

Affiliation: Para La Tierra, University of Aberdeen, University of Padua

Abstract

Increasing urbanisation is encroaching into natural habitats and sometimes forcing wildlife into urban centres. Whether or not wildlife can thrive in an urban environment is dependent on many factors, one of which is how the species is perceived by local people. This study focuses on the city of Pilar in south-west Paraguay, which is home to a population of urban-dwelling black and gold howler monkeys (Alouatta caraya). Using semi-structured interviews, we assessed peoples’ attitudes towards the presence of howlers, whether they perceived the monkeys to cause problems in the city, what they believed were the biggest threats to the monkeys, and whether they felt that the presence of monkeys in the city was compatible with their way of life in the long term. Overall, we found that the majority of interviewees had positive attitudes towards the monkeys, believing that they brought benefits to the city and that they should be protected from potential risks in the urban environment. Our results provide the basis for collaborative, community-based development of management strategies for the long-term survival of these urban monkeys.

Highlights

The study of the human/non-human primate interface, ethno-primatology, is a multidisciplinary field that recognises humans as a natural part of ecosystems (Fuentes 2012; Setchell et al 2017)
Our research was approved by the Ministerio de Ambiente y Desarollo Sostenible (MADES), Fundación Para La Tierra and the ethics board of the Department of Philosophy, Sociology, Pedagogy, and Applied Psychology at the University of Padova
*More interviews were conducted in Barrio Crucecita, as two separate howler groups live there. As their home ranges do not overlap (Para la Tierra, unpublished data), the households affected by their presence are different interviewing people in their neighbourhoods, we interviewed employees of the Pilar Cotton Factory, Ministry of the Environment (MADEs), the Pilar Municipality, and the Administración Nacional de Electricidad (ANDE)

Summary

Introduction

The study of the human/non-human primate (hereafter primates) interface, ethno-primatology, is a multidisciplinary field that recognises humans as a natural part of ecosystems (Fuentes 2012; Setchell et al 2017). Loss of natural habitats results in wildlife, including some species of primates, utilising the urban environment (Sinha and Vijayakrishnan 2017). Cities present several unique opportunities for primates, including abundant and rich (though often non-natural) food resources and the absence of natural predators (Sinha and Vijayakrishnan 2017). The urban environment presents various novel threats to individual survival, such as electrocution on power lines and attacks by domestic dogs (Trachypithecus vetulus nesto, Moore et al 2010), road kills (Alouatta guariba clamitans, Teixeira et al 2013; Alouatta caraya, Para La Tierra unpublished data), novel gastrointestinal parasitic infections (Papio anubis, Ryan et al 2012) and direct conflict with humans (Lee and Priston 2005)

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